Cat Insurance

Veterinary practices are improving their services all the time and as human medicine progresses some of the diagnostic techniques and treatments find their way into veterinary practice.

Most practices now have wide-ranging facilities such as hospitalisation with general anaesthetic facilities and ultrasound scanning.

Treatment costs do not come cheap and repairing broken bones following an accident can soon exceed £1,000 or more. This may come as quite a shock and cause a payment problem.

It is not surprising therefore that more and more pet owners are taking out insurance policies.

Cats can be insured easily, and remember the average cat insurance  is less per month than canine insurance in most cases, as the average feline claim is less than the average dog claim. However like all things in life insurance costs are rising.

However, be very careful that all conditions are covered and in particular DENTAL conditions, as many feline policies do not cover cat dental diseases. Serious dental problems are much more common in cats than dogs and in a significant number of cases we will need to remove all your cats’ teeth. This can be spectacularly successful in removing serious dental pain and allowing your cat to live the best life they can. However, it is expensive. The procedure involves multiple digital X-rays and can easily take 3 to 4 hours in time. So please make sure oral diseases are covered, with any feline insurance you are considering!

When To Take Out a Policy

The same rules apply to buying a pet policy as your own health insurance policy – buy it when young and healthy and there are no existing conditions to report. Read the small print carefully and take notice of the terms and conditions that will explain what is and what is not covered together with any excess payments that may be required.

What Do You Get for Your Money?

In general, diagnosis and treatment for any accident, injury, or illness, should be covered - but please check this with your provider as not all pet insurance policies are equal.

However, pre-existing and chronic conditions will almost certainly be excluded or subject to an excess. Any insurance policy with a high claim likelihood has to maintain a careful balance between premium level, excess charges and exclusions for the insurer to remain in business.

Third Party Liability

This is an important benefit to protect pet owners against being sued if their pet causes damage or injury. This can be a cat causing a road accident. NOTE not all Insurance policies cover this, so caveat emptor let the buyer beware!!

Premium Levels

As with most types of insurance, premiums will vary according to risk. A valuable pedigree can command a higher premium than a moggy. Postcodes will also be considered and proximity to built up areas of towns and cities.

Exclusions

Routine and preventive care will be excluded together with anything classed as cosmetic. All pre-existing conditions will also be excluded.

Summary

One in three pets may require unexpected veterinary treatment every year.

You may be surprised to hear that you are more likely to claim on your pet insurance than your car or household policies. In fact, in our experience if you are one of the few people who don’t need to claim on your pet insurance you really are very lucky indeed!

It’s important to be aware that not all pet insurance is the same. Some policies limit the amount of time or money that you can claim for. Some only cover certain medical conditions see the earlier note on dental feline diseases. Don’t just shop around on price alone.

Whilst advances in veterinary medicine mean we can do more for your pet, treatment costs can soon mount up. We recommend lifetime cover pet insurance to all our clients to help cover unexpected vets’ bills.